Fred Fields

1923 - 2011

Fred W. Fields was born Nov. 12, 1923, in Alexandria, Ind., the son of Ethel and Mahlon Fields. He died peacefully in his sleep Dec. 13, 2011, in Indian Wells, Calif.
Fred was the brother of Everett, Robert, Eugene, Louise, Marienne, Donald and Betty Jean.
He is survived by Donald; cousin, Melinda Wells; and 19 nieces and nephews.
In 1958, Fred met and married Suzanne Schoenfeldt, who passed away in 2009. After Sue's death, Fred was aided by a loyal caregiver, Lars Nystromer.
Fred began work on his family farm at age 10. He played varsity basketball and football in high school, as well as football on the Air Transport Command team in 1946, during his military service. He also played in the Canadian Football League in its first year of operation. Fred credited team sports with teaching him to work collaboratively, set high standards and to strive for superior performance.
Fred also was an avid golfer, plus a good shot in the field hunting ducks and upland game. He was part owner of Gearhart Golf Course and a member of the group that brought to Portland the tournament that later became the Fred Meyer Golf Challenge.
Fred started college at Ball State, an Indiana teacher's college, but soon transferred to Indiana University, when he decided that engineering was his calling. He also studied at Oklahoma State University and Rhode Island College while in the U.S. Air Corps and finished his formal education in engineering at Purdue University. While in the Air Corps, Fred taught navigation and instrument flying to pilots in Charleston, S.C.
Fred joined Coe Manufacturing Company in 1947, the beginning of a 53-year relationship. Coe designed and constructed machinery that milled lumber, veneer, plywood, composition board, plasterboard, ceiling tile and rubber products. As a young engineer, Fred worked in field and sales engineering, where he supervised the installation of machinery at various customer plants.
Fred was transferred to Oregon at the outset of plywood production made from Douglas fir. Coe designed lathes for large, and subsequently, smaller logs. In 1959, Fred became the West Coast manager for Coe, at which time he was building their plant in Tigard, Ore.
In the 1960s, Coe was one of the first companies to make equipment that would make plywood from Southern pine, selling and installing 15 units for Georgia-Pacific. In the 1970s, Coe engineers developed the computerized lathe charger, computerized scanners, and the core drive, all innovations in the plywood industry.
Fred purchased Coe in 1976, on the advice of Dave Finch and Garthe Brown and with a loan from John Elorriaga, then of U.S. Bank. Fred repaid the loan early, and sat on the U.S. Bank board for the next 17 years.
In the 1980s, Coe purchased Moore Dry Kiln Company and Washington Iron Works, giving Fred the capacity to manufacture machines that made medium density fiberboard. Coe made the machinery for MDF plants for Louisiana-Pacific, G-P, and Weyerhaeuser. During this period, Coe developed high-speed sawmill machinery that had improved parameters and equipment for engineered lumber.
By 1999, Coe had 750 employees and had acquired 15 other companies with expertise in new areas of technology, particularly computer-controlled automation in plywood and lumber production. At the time Coe had more than $90 million in annual sales.
During Fred's 23-years of ownership, Coe sold machinery to firms in Australia, Chile, China, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico and South Africa, as well as the U.S. In 2000, Fred sold Coe to a venture capital firm and retired from the lumber business.
Fred's philanthropy in education and the arts in Oregon is legendary. He and his wife, Sue, believed that education prepares and stimulates young people to innovate and develop ideas collaboratively. To this end, the Fields advocated improving college faculties and facilities as keys to quality education.
Fred and Sue supported Lewis & Clark College, Oregon Health and Science University, University of Oregon, Purdue University, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Oregon Historical Society, Portland Art Museum, Columbia River Maritime Museum and Lake Erie College.
Upon his death, he designated substantial gifts to these organizations, as well as to Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Boy Scouts of America, and created the Fred and Sue Fields Fund at Oregon Community Foundation to continue to support education and the arts in Oregon.
Fred was chairman of the board of trustees of Lewis & Clark College from 2001-2004, and a life trustee. In 1990, he helped create the Morgan S. Odell Professorship in the Humanities. In 1993, he financed construction of the Fred W. Fields Center for the Visual Arts at Lewis & Clark.
Fred also was a trustee of the Portland Art Museum and funded the restoration of its historic sunken ballroom, which was renamed the Fields Ballroom in honor of Sue and Fred.
Fred's gift to Oregon Health & Sciences University established the Fred W. Fields Neurosciences Discovery and Innovation Endowment at their Jungers Center for Neuroscience Research.
Fred was a trustee of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Columbia River Maritime Museum. He also was an adviser to Washington State University's Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory, the president of Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, and Associated Oregon Industries.
Sue Fields was both a patron and trustee of the University of Portland. Fred and Sue jointly made a gift to UP for construction of two dormitories, Fields and Schoenfeldt Halls, the latter named for Sue's brother, Reverend Arthur Schoenfeldt, C.S.C.
Fred was a member of Waverley Country Club, The Arlington Club and Multnomah Athletic Club in Oregon. Plus Eldorado and Thunderbird Country Clubs in southern California.
Fred was a lifelong entrepreneur known for his positive attitude. Longtime friend John Hampton said Fred told him early in life that he decided he was going to make the maximum use of his time on earth, and he did. His many friends and charities are testimony to his laser-like attention and dedication.
A memorial service followed by a reception will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Portland.
Contributions can be made in Fred's memory to one of his or the donor's favorite charities.